Wasim Abusal ( ar, وسيم أبو سل, Wasīm Abū Sall; born 14 June 2004) is a Palestinian featherweight boxer. He competed at the

2024 Paris Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summe ...

Career

Abusal started boxing at the age of 12 in his hometown of

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

, encouraged by his father. He competed in the featherweight category at the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially known as the 19th Asian Games (), also known as Hangzhou 2022, ( zh, c=杭州2022, p=Hángzhōu Èr líng èr èr), will be a multi-sport event celebrated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Hangzhou will be the t ...

in China, finishing 9th. In 2023, he took part in the

IBA World Boxing Championships The IBA World Boxing Championships, and the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships (previously known as AIBA), are biennial amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which is the sport governing body. A ...

in Uzbekistan. He then won a bronze medal in his category at the

2023 Arab Games The 2023 Arab Sports Games was the 13th edition of the Arab Games, an international multi-sport event which will take place in Algeria, between 5 and 15 July 2023. It witnessed the participation of all the 22 Arab League members in 22 sports. F ...

in Algeria. Despite not qualifying from the world tournament, Abusal was given a wildcard to represent

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

in Paris, France, becoming the first Palestinian boxer to compete at an Olympic event. He was eliminated during the round of 32. He also served as Olympic flagbearer for his country alongside swimmer

Valerie Tarazi Valerie Rose Tarazi ( ar, فاليري روز ترزي; born 9 October 1999) is a Palestinian-American swimmer who represents Palestine internationally. She competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Life Tarazi was born in Illinois, U.S., to an ...

at the opening ceremony.

Training

Abusal welcomed the IOC's decision to invite him to the 2024 Olympics, with his coaches lamenting the obstacles posed to his training and competition schedule by the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the Israel–Hamas war. His main coach, Cairo-based Gazan Ahmad Harara, follows his training via remote connection due to the inability to travel to the West Bank with a Gaza ID, and only meets him during international competitions. Because of movement restrictions within the West Bank and the weakness of the

Palestinian passport The Palestinian Authority Passport ( ar, جواز سفر السلطة الفلسطينية) is a passport/travel document issued since April 1995 by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories for the purpo ...

, Abusal is also unable to meet regularly with boxing partners of his weight, with the only other boxer in Ramallah weighing 71 kg, and to attend all tournaments in Palestine and abroad. The last part of his Olympic training took place in Allonnes, Sarthe.

References

External links

* Living people 2004 births Palestinian male boxers Featherweight boxers Olympic boxers for Palestine Boxers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Ramallah 21st-century Palestinian sportsmen Boxers at the 2022 Asian Games Arab Games bronze medalists {{Asia-boxing-bio-stub